


Fault Lines

by starwritess



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Avatar Cycle, Avatar OC, Bending (Avatar), Canon-Typical Violence, Earthbending & Earthbenders, F/F, Firebending & Firebenders, Gen, Worldbuilding, i'm not sure whether or not to tag it as ship yet but we will find out, korrasami is talked about by asami if you are here for that, will add more tags as the story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23903635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starwritess/pseuds/starwritess
Summary: Chai was an Earthbender, but not a very good one. Bending had never come easily to her, so imagine the shock that, come her sixteenth birthday, the Seven Councilmen announced her as the next Avatar. Unfortunately she didn’t have much time after the announcement before she was whisked away, falling right into the Fire Nation and an underground conspiracy. Now, she must find a way to restore peace, all the while learning and adjusting to her new abilities and responsibilities as the Avatar.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Comments: 15
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is my first Avatar fic as I have only recently gotten into the series. I thought it would be fun to imagine the next Avatar in the cycle after Korra, which is how Chei was born. This is also my first OC fic since 2013 (lol), but I am pretty excited about it, and due to quarantine, I've been getting back into writing. Although I know this is very different from anything I've posted in the past, I'm looking forward to exploring this story and the Avatar lore more as it progresses.  
> I tried to really imagine what the word would be like post-LOK. Things that were rare in Avatar, like Metalbending, had become more common by LOK, so where would that be by the time the next Avatar came around? I also had to make the Earth Kingdom government basically from scratch, since the Monarchy seemed to have been replaced by something similar to an Oligarchy at the end if LOK. Topics like these were really fun to imagine, as well as the progression of the world and where it may be by the time Chei became Avatar.  
> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy the story!

Chei stepped forward, feeling the Earth shake beneath her as she redirected the power. The boulder in front of her inched through the dirt, accelerating until Chei stepped back, grounding her feet and stopping it. Struggling for breath, she bent over and heaved for air.

“Good job, Chei,” Yeno, her Earthbending instructor, praised. “You’re very firm and decisive in your movements. Try to widen your stance to increase the power.”

Chei didn’t particularly think she needed to increase her power - she’d been tired enough as is - but nonetheless, she stepped over to the next boulder and tried again. This time, she widened her stance considerably, almost exaggeratedly so, and commanded the boulder forward.

At least a dozen times faster than the last, the boulder shot off, racing through the dirt and passing the last one.

Chei had always had trouble with the power of Earthbending. She was very accurate with smaller rocks and tiny shifts in position, but when it came to moving large objects, she was far behind the Earthbenders her age. So much so that her parents, who were noble diplomats, paid to have Chei privately instructed in her weaker areas. It helped, but she still was far from the rest of her class, many of which were already proficient in Metalbending. 

“Good, now bring it back,” Yeno ordered.

This was always harder. Chei stepped one foot back, focused on the boulder, and brought her hands backwards. It didn’t budge. Squinting, she pulled more. This time it shot back and smacked Chei right in the face, knocking her over. The rock broke into pieces.

“Ow…” She groaned, rubbing the red mark on her forehead. It hurt, but she still had the guise to push the rubble off of her. 

“Maybe it’s time we stop.” Yeno leaned down and offered her hand. Chei took it, pulling herself back up. “Are you okay?”

“Peachy,” She mumbled. How could she mess up this bad? Chei shook her head and bowed, “Thank you for helping.”

“Always,” Yeno bowed back. “Now go home and get cleaned up. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Chei looked down at the dirt dusting her clothes and skin. She really did need a bath. Still, she asked, “Are you going to come to lunch tomorrow?” Tomorrow was her sixteenth birthday, and she was really looking forward to the celebration.

Yeno smiled at her. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

\-------------------------

Chei looked in the mirror. She didn’t recognize herself; not having her hair pulled up was a once-a-year appearance, let alone the dress she had adorned herself in. It was a pale green with golden trim, draped over one shoulder. The other arm had a golden band around it, delicate weaving in a braid. She had a black choker necklace tied around her neck. Some hair got stuck in it, and Chei had to painfully tug it out. So this is why she always pulls her hair back. 

Chei was ripped from her own thoughts by a knock at her door. Her mother stepped inside, softly closing it behind her. “All ready?” She asked.

“I guess.” Chei shuffled her feet and nervously pulled at the fabric. “Why did it have to be such a large celebration?”

“It isn’t that big,” She disagreed. “Honey, it’s just a few family friends and your teachers.”

Chei knew that wasn’t true. She’d seen the extent of the guest list. Nevertheless, she slipped on her shoes - a decorative pair of brown and gold sandals that she had only worn a handful of times - and followed her mother down the corridor and to their garden, where the party would be held.

While it wasn’t as crowded as Chei had expected, it was far from empty. As soon as she stepped through the entryway, half a dozen people came up to wish her a happy birthday, most of which she didn’t know the names of. Guess that’s what happens when your parents are political delegates. 

There weren’t many decorations, but the beautiful flowers and orchard trees did enough. While there were a few fabric banners hung up, congratulating Chei and wishing her a happy birthday, that was the extent of it. There was also a table on the farside which housed a rather large stack of cards, all from her parent’s friends who were trying to be polite.

The next couple minutes were spent with Chei trying to push through the crowd, desperate to get away from the overly polite greetings and obligatory thank you’s. Eventually she made her way over to Nao, her childhood best friend. Their parents worked very closely together, so they spent a lot of time playing as kids, and grew up training Earthbending together. Unfortunately Nao had long surpassed Chei, and was now working with many of the Metalbenders. 

“Happy birthday!” Nao cheered as soon as Chei got close. She held out a gift in front of her, wrapped with a little metal bow on top. It looked elaborate, bent for it to look like fabric foldings with an ornate pattern on the large surfaces.

“Thanks.” Chei accepted it, turning it over in her hands. “What’s the gift here? Whatever’s in the box or the metal bow?”

“Oh, I guess I may have gotten carried away.” Nao rubbed the back of her neck, breaking eye contact. “But I think you’ll really like the gift. The actual one. The one that isn’t the bow.”

Chei laughed. Nao always seemed a bit sheepish when it came to her Metalbending. It was standard for Earthbenders to learn it now, so everyone at the standard level knew it, or at least had a basic understanding. Sometimes she thinks that Nao just doesn’t like bringing it up, since Chei was so far behind. She appreciated the sentiment, but hated the uncertainty. 

“Well for the record, I like the bow too.” Nao blushed at the compliment and continued avoiding eye contact, to which Chei giggled.

Their little moment was broken when the crowd started to part. There was murmuring all around, low whispers and hushed voices. Curious, Chei began to push her way through the groups of people, trying to see what had caused such a fuss.

“Councilmen, what are you doing here?” She first heard her mother say, then saw as she finally broke through. True to the word, the Seven Councilmen were standing in front of both her parents, hands folded, perfect posture, and the poise of all that is strict and orderly in the world.

“What’s going on?” Chei shouted, continuing to push her way over. 

The leader of the group, Vonrir - the head of the Councilmen - turned to Chei. He cleared his throat, his voice sounding almost mechanical in it’s perfected speech. “We are here to announce the identity of the next Avatar.”

Chei’s heart skipped a beat, then stopped entirely. Her lungs seemed to shrink, and the room grew a dozen times hotter. Then something unexpected happened, something that no one at that party had ever seen happen before.

Vonrir bowed, kneeled at Chei’s feet. She swallowed, saying nothing. This had to be a mistake, but she knew it was true as soon as the words came from his mouth, as soon as he addressed her. “Avatar Chei.”

The other Councilmen all bowed behind him. Slowly, one by one, everyone else in the room began to bow as well. This was wrong, this felt so wrong. She tried to speak her grievances, but choked on the words. She swallowed, tried again, and this time it came out as a croak, “You must be mistaken.”

“There are no mistakes, Avatar Chei,” Vonrir said, so confident in this that it eased Chei’s nerves for a fraction of a second, then it all came crashing back down. 

Vonrir continued talking, explaining how they would call someone from each kingdom to teach her all of the elements, but first she had to master Earthbending, and that was just it, wasn’t it? She hadn’t mastered Earthbending yet. The Avatar was always quick to pick up bending, it couldn’t be her. She was terrible at Earthbending, and would only bring shame to the Earth kingdom.

It was deafening, the doubt, the fear. It roared in her ears and crashed down on her like a wave, drowning, suffocating in it all. 

She didn’t want to be the Avatar. There were dozens of little Earthbenders who would give anything to be the Avatar. Why couldn’t it be one of them? Why her?  _ Why? _

What’s the point?

“No thank you,” Chei rejected, interrupting Vonrir’s long explanation.

“No?” He asked, not seeming to understand. “No to what?”

“No, no thank you. I will not be the Avatar.”

“But you already are.”

“You can choose someone else.”

“ _ That  _ isn’t possible. You must step up to your duty, fulfill your destiny.” Vonrir didn’t seem any less confused, and the other Councilmen were exchanging concerned looks.

“Well, I don’t want to.”

“It’s your birthright. You  _ are _ the Avatar.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to be.”

Vonrir stood up a little straighter, fixing Chei with a disapproving glare. At this point, a low whisper had broken out around the crowd. “You are the Avatar, whether you like it or not, and you have a responsibility not just to yourself and your nation, but to the whole world and the spirits.”

Chei shrugged.

“Now I recommend you come with us, so that we can get everything sorted out.”

“Don’t really want to.”

Vonrir scowled, but just before he seemed about to lose it, Chei’s mother stepped in. “Why don’t you let me talk to her?”

Vonrir nodded. “Very well. Come down to Town Hall tomorrow morning and we will discuss details further then.” And without waiting for a final goodbye, the Seven Councilmen turned and left.

Chei exhaled sharply, breathing heavily now that Vonrir was gone. Someone was slowly rubbing her back. She looked over to see Nao with a comforting smile. “Let’s go inside.”

They passed through the large crowd, Chei avoiding looking at any of them, and back into the house. The paneled walls seemed like they were going to cave in, and the ceiling felt like it might collapse.

Nao guided her into her room. They sat down on the bed together, Nao continuing to rub soothing circles for a few minutes. The room was quiet, and Chei slowly willed herself into calming down. Deep breaths. Close your eyes and take deep breaths. Once ready, she spoke up, “Why me?” 

Her voice was timid and tired and barely there, but Nao must have heard it, because she shrugged. “I don’t know how these things work.”

“They must have made a mistake.”

“They didn’t make a mistake with the last hundred, thousand,  _ however _ many Avatars there were. I doubt they would now.”

Chei fiddled with her hands. Nao wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into it. “But I can barely even Earthbend.”

She ran her hand through Chei’s hair. “So? You’re getting better. You never know, you might pick up on all the other elements really easily.”

Chei wanted to laugh, but couldn’t. She couldn’t do anything.

“Excuse me?” Yeno stood at the door, hand still on the handle like she was ready to back out at any minute. “Can I come in?”

Chei nodded, so Nao gestured her in.

“You know, you always did seem like more of a Firebender to me,” Yeno joked. 

Yeno squeezed Chei’s arm, but Chei didn’t budge. “So what happens now?”

“I’ve never had the Avatar as a student, I wouldn’t know,” She continued, once again falling flat. “Okay, honestly? I think they’re going to give you three more instructors, one for each type of bending. You’ll learn how to connect with the spirits more, and how to deal with conflict. You will probably travel a bit, and learn how to speak with all the past Avatars. It will be a lot, but the world is at peace now. It’s calm, there’s isn’t much conflict. You don’t have to worry about rushing or solving anything just yet.”

Chei sighed. She didn’t want to think about any conflict resolution. It sounded so exhausting, why couldn’t the nations just work out their own problems?

“See, Chei? At least you don’t have to solve a 100 year war or anything,” Nao tried to reassure. It didn’t work.

“I’d rather not have to do it at all.”

“I know.” Nao continued to hug her, stroking her hair and rubbing her arm, just below the golden band. “But it’s who you are.”

“At least go meet with the Seven Councilmen tomorrow,” Yeno reasoned. “Talk to him, find out exactly what you have to do. I’m sure it isn’t nearly as bad as you’re imagining.”

Chei hesitated. “I don’t know…” While it’s true that there was no use getting out if it, she kind of didn’t want to see Vonrir, not after today. She wasn’t often rude to authority, especially someone as high up as a Councilman, and wasn’t entirely sure why she acted like so, other than the overwhelming and crushing anxiety and all. Maybe she should apologize, hopefully he would understand. “I guess I can try.”

“That’s my girl,” Yeno cheered, patting Chei on the knee.

Nao squeezed her tighter. “You’re going to be great.

\--------------------

Chei dreaded waking up.

She normally wasn’t the biggest fan of waking up, but this was worse. 

Opening her eyes, nothing felt real. It felt like the world was straight out of a mover. Like it was all prerecorded and playing out in her mind. 

She reached over and touched the cold, hard wall. Just to make sure it was real. It was. Taking a deep breath, she sat up. Her reflection stared back at her, painted in the mirror at the end of her bed. Dread manifested in the pit of her stomach. She  _ really _ didn’t want to do this.

Getting dressed was a challenge in itself. Chei wore a green crop top with hazelnut colored cropped pants and ankle boots tinted similarly. Then she tied a yellow scarf around her waist and leg, the knot resting on her thigh with the ends falling down her leg. She slipped a band onto her arm - solid brown - and then pulled her hands into her chestnut colored gloves. Finally, she pulled her straight, black hair up - as she does every day - and tied a bright green bandana around her head. 

Chei stepped back to look in the mirror. Now that she was dressed in her usual clothes, she felt a bit more like herself, but still wildly nervous. She tried smiling at her reflection. It didn’t help.

Realizing that she’d just have to get it over with, Chei grabbed her tote bag and headed out the door. She didn’t know what she would say once she was there, but felt slightly less hysterical after a night's rest and a bit of a walk. Town Hall wasn’t that far from where she lived, being in the upper ring, so it only took a few minutes to get there. Unfortunately it took a lot longer for her to muster up the courage to step inside, standing on the huge, marble entryway instead, staring up at the building while it loomed over her. It was intimidating.

Swallowing thickly, Chei stepped inside.

The great hall was quiet, but that lasted all of two seconds. Then the whispers began.

Never had Chei had so much attention directed towards her. It was uncomfortable, everyone murmuring and pointing. The worst part? She knew what this was all about, she knew what had happened yesterday. She had, regretfully, been there.

Shuffling her feet, Chei walked up to the counter and asked the receptionist, “Can I see Vonrir.”

“Yes, he’s been expecting you. Please have a seat while I radio him, Avatar Chei.” 

The woman bowed her head slightly and then pulled out her microphone and called him. Meanwhile, Chei went and sat on a nearby couch, unnerved at having the title of “Avatar” in front of her name. 

She inhaled a deep breath, taking in everything around her. The walls were mostly stone with marble accents. There were nine paintings on the wall behind the receptionist. One of each of the Seven Councilmen, one of all of them together, and then one of the Minor Congression. Trying to occupy her mind, Chei searched for her parents in the painting. There were dozens of Earth Kingdom diplomats, each from a different city, all wearing the same identical green and brown robes. As much as Chei understood the importance of unity and all that, she sometimes wished she could wear a color that  _ wasn’t _ green.

“Chei?” She snapped back to attention when Vonrir called her name. He was peeking out from behind a nearby door, so she quickly stood and hurried over.

“Hi,” Chei greeted, following him into the office. There was a huge oak desk in the middle of the room, scattered with papers and pens. The wall adorned a rather large series of photographs, all in their own neat little frame. There were three chairs: one that was clearly for Vonrir, since it was huge, with red cushioning and gold lining, and sat behind the desk. The other two were perched across from him, made from simple wood. Chei sat down in the closest one. “I want to apologize for yesterday.”

Vonrir sat down in his extravagant chair, folding his hands and leaning back. “I hope that means you’ve come around.”

“I don’t know,” Chei confessed. “But it’s not like I have a choice.”

“Good, then we will start your training tomorrow.” Vonrir leaned over and shuffled through a stack of papers. “I have already called a Firebending instructor here, and am in touch with an Airbender. I figured it would be best to go in order of the cycle.”

“But I haven’t even mastered Earthbending yet.”

“In due time,” Vonrir waved her off. “You can study two elements at one. You are the Avatar after all.”

And there it was. He was assuming Chei would be able to perfect everything immediately because she was the Avatar, overlooking the years of struggle that she’d experienced with her Earthbending. But this was a fight she knew she could not win, so, tightlipped, she smiled. “Alright.”

“Good! Now go to your lessons, I’m sure Yeno is waiting for you. Meet here tomorrow to meet your new Firebending instructor.”

Chei left Town Hall feeling frustrated and annoyed. Luckily Yeno was much more understanding. They spent most of the lesson with only half-effort, Chei complaining about Vonrir while pushing rocks around. Yeno would occasionally remind her to widen her stance, straighten her arms, or keep her chin up. For the most part, she just let Chei rant.

“...like I have to be expected to know everything right away. It’ll probably take until I’m 50 to become a master of all elements! And this  _ guy  _ is telling me I start Firebending  _ tomorrow! _ ” She threw a rock at a much larger rock, shattering it into pieces. “What the hell!”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking,” Yeno started, and wasn’t that the worst, when someone started by staying that? “We should get you to start Metalbending. It’s standard for Earthbenders to know it nowadays, and with you needing to learn all the others, I want you to at least have a bit of a grip on it.”

Chei sighed. She was probably right, but that doesn’t mean she had to like it. She pleaded, “can we wait a bit longer?” 

Yeno crossed her arms and stared down her nose at Chei. “We should start as soon as possible.”

“You’re right, but I also just went through a major life changing event, and I’m tired. I want to procrastinate learning.” She paused, then added, “At least until tomorrow.”

“Fine,” Yeno conceded, “But tomorrow, we bend some metal.”

“ _ Try _ to bend some metal. Do you really think I’ll be able to do it on the first day? I’m me.”

“C’mon, don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Okay, but like,  _ I’m me.” _

Yeno rolled her eyes. “You’ve had a rough 24 hours. Do a couple more rounds and then you can go home.”

Chei cheered, using the motivation of returning to her bed to power through a few more rounds of moving, cutting, and shaping boulders. By the end, she was sweating, partly from the exhaustion of it and partly from the blazing afternoon sun. 

She grabbed her water and started heading out, tossing back a lazy, “see you tomorrow!”

\--------------------

Tomorrow came far too fast.

Waking up wasn’t quite as hard, but she still dreaded opening her eyes. Opening her eyes meant getting out of bed, which meant leaving the house, which meant going to learn Firebending under her new Avatar-related responsibilities. 

Groaning, Chei’s feet hit the floor. She got dressed and headed down the hall, wishing both her parents a quick farewell before heading down to the Town Hall. The walk wasn’t as solemn as the day before, but it was nerve wracking nonetheless. Chei knew the first day wouldn’t go well, she could  _ feel _ it. If she’s had so much trouble with Earthbending, why would she be able to Firebend the very first day?

As soon as she entered the palace, Chei immediately knew who the Firebender was. He was the only thing in the entire town that wasn’t green.

“Ah, you must be the new Avatar,” he said, walking up and greeting her, holding out his hand to shake. Chei took it, still a little uneasy and the new title. “My car is waiting outside, we’re going somewhere more remote to practice.”

Chei hesitated. It seemed shady. She had a bad feeling about it. Then again, Firebending could be pretty dangerous, and this guy seemed to be close with Vonrir. It was probably okay.

Chei shook his hand and nodded. He led the way outside, explaining on the way, “It was a long drive from the Fire Nation, I hope you don’t mind if I’m a little off today. I am very tired.”

“You and me both, pal,” Chei muttered, then spoke up more clearly. “Uh, so where  _ exactly _ are we going?”

“A quiet place just outside of town. It will be easier to work there.”

“There’s actually a spot right down the road where Yeno and I practice Earthbending. We could go there if you don’t want to drive anymore.”

The man looked annoyed. “I’m fine.”

Chei pursed her lips. They walked down the rest of the stairs in silence. 

As they approached the car, she noted how strange it was. She’d expected it to be bright red, since they were from the Fire Nation, but no, it was green. It blended in with every other car, except it had tinted windows.

Chei knew something was wrong. As they approached the car, she quickly searched for a way out. She didn’t know, didn’t know anything. This man was a master Firebender, there was no way she’d be able to fight him. Chei took a glance around - there were a few people, but not many, and not anyone immediately close. She knows that if a fight broke out, none of them would go for help. They’d just run for cover.

Too late, the two of them had already arrived at the car. Chei opened her mouth and began to speak, “Actually, I think-”

“Get in the car,” He smirked. “We can talk about it on the way there.”

“Well if we walked, you know I could use the exercise-”

His expression fell, turning to a scowl. “Get in the damn car.”

Frozen in fear, Chei obeyed. The door creaked as she opened it, and then again as it closed. 

“I don’t think-” Chei started, but stopped when she felt a prick in her neck. She tried to swat at it, but couldn’t move her arm. Her vision started fading, and as she tried to scream for help, kick the door, open the handle, scream, scream,  _ scream, _ but nothing worked. Nothing  _ worked.  _ And all she could remember thinking was, this is it, this is it, this is going to be it.

And then she woke up.

The floor was hard. 

Cold. 

Chei moved to sit up, but was stopped by a crook in her neck. She moved to rub it, but her hands were chained together and to the ground. The space was dark, but she could still see around her. There were three walls and one set of metal jail bars. On the other side of the bars were a few torches - that’s where the light was coming from - and a single guard, leaning against the wall across from her prison. Chei really wished she’d taken the time to learn Metalbending yesterday.

She walked forward, walked as far as she could until the cuffs and chains dug into her wrists, and then walked some more. “Where am I?” She called.

“Hey look, the Avatar’s awake!” The guard called, and three more came over.

“Aw, look at the little Avatar.”

“Not so strong now, are you?”

“What? Can’t Firebend yet?”

They all taunted her, pointing and snickering among themselves. Finally, one of them leaned down to face her. She tried to growl at him, but it came out more timid and weak.

The man laughed at her, a wicked grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You’re in the Fire Nation now. There’s no going home.”

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Chei continued pulling and ripping at her cuffs. They weren’t budging.

Closing her eyes, she willed them apart. It was no use, she wasn’t a Metalbender. She wasn’t getting out of this.

“Hey,” She called at the guard sitting in front of her cell. “Bet you can’t melt metal with fire.”

He scoffed. “Nice try, kid.”

Chei pouted. “Can you at least let me out to pee?”

“Pee in the corner.”

“But…” She looked suspiciously at all the corners. None of them looked appealing to pee in. “It’s cold, and dark.”

“So are bathrooms if you turn off the lights.”

“You have a point.” She looked around the cell, trying to come up with a plan. “Can you at least unhook me from the floor? I’d kinda like to be facing the other way when I pull down my pants.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine, if it gets you to shut up.”

Chei felt excitement bubble in her chest, but was careful not to show it as he unlocked the door and approached the chains. He bent down, and as soon as his key turned in the lock, Chei whipped around and kneed him in the jaw. She followed it up with a roundhouse kick to the gut, then wacked him with the chains as she ran out the door.

“Hey!” The guard called. “Get her!”

Chei ran and didn’t look back. The entire corridor seemed to be made of stone and lined with metal, so she couldn’t bend her way out. 

Coming up on another guard, they shot fire at her. She ducked, sliding beneath it and coming out to kick the guard in the shins. She shoved him down with an elbow to the back and kept running. 

Next came a group of three Firebenders. They were all already bending, intimidating her with their fancy tricks that were designed solely for showing off. Without her bending, Chei wasn’t sure she would stand a chance against them. Nonetheless, she ducked beneath some fire, kicking the feet out from one of them. 

The other two guards turned against her. She gulped. One went high while the other went low, stepping forward and blasting raging flames from their fists. Chei tried to jump to the side, but flames singed her arm. She yelped.

They continued to approach, shooting new flames with every step. She tried her best to avoid them, the scorching heat inches from her face, feeling like it was going to burn her every move. She wanted it to stop, all of it to just  _ stop. _

Having no other option, she tried something impossible. Chei knew she was the Avatar, and therefore she should be able to bend all elements. So she shifted, stood her ground, and tried to mimic the way her enemies moved. She watched the way their arms extended, the sway of their form, how each of their movements connected to the last. And Chei copied it. 

It was like a flame had been reignited inside her. A heat flowed through her veins, begging to be let out as she shot the flame back at them, thrice as strong. They tried to control it, tried to take hold and send it back, but stumbled. The guards were both singed, and in their surprise, Chei sweeped their feet off the ground and took off running.

She could still feel the energy within her, but it was slowly simmering down. Chei only begged that she wouldn’t lose it.

\--------------------

It appeared that the prison had been not only underground, but beneath a lively, bustling town. Whether or not all the citizens here knew they were above a prison was unknown, but if they did know, none of them seemed to care.

It was a stark shift from the Earth Kingdom. Instead of greens, everything was painted in warm colors - reds, oranges, yellows. Their buildings were taller rather than wider, lacking the typical thatched roofs and wooden supports that were so common in Chei’s hometown. 

Admittedly, Chei had always wanted to visit the Fire Nation, but being kidnapped wasn’t in her initial plans.

What did she do now? How would she get home? How long has she even been gone? Had anyone noticed her absence? Would they be looking for her? Would they  _ find _ her? Here, so far from home?

Chei had a blanket pulled over her head, a red one that she had swiped off a bench. She felt bad about it, but she didn’t want to risk getting recaptured. Hopefully with this draped over her head and wrapped around her shoulders, she wouldn’t stand out as much. 

She sighed as her stomach rumbled. Who knows how long it had been since Chei ate? She wished she knew how much time had passed, although it couldn’t have been more than a day or two. Well, luckily, she was in the right place. Scanning the streets, Chei took in a wide array of different market stands, all selling different fruit and vegetables, not unlike a Farmer’s Market. 

“Hey! Watch it!” The voice came from behind her, footsteps quickly approaching. Not stopping to think, Chei broke into a sprint. “Stop where you are!”

She darted through the crowds, weaving around people and leaping over obstacles. She couldn’t get captured again - escaping had been pure _ luck.  _ Chei doubted she could catch them off guard again.

Daring a glance over her shoulder, Chei made out three men. Each were wearing full black armor, so they must have been guards. They were quickly gaining on her, and she was running out of space to go.

Taking a chance, she ducked into an allyway. Chei raced down the thin path. It led to another, and then another. She carefully followed the labyrinth, trying as hard as possible to lose the quickly-gaining men behind her. 

It didn’t work. She spared another quick look behind her, but tripped over a loose branch. As she tumbled head first into the dirt, Chei felt helpless. Alone. She flipped onto her back, ready to face them and fight instead, but the three of them were already standing above her. She crawled backwards, trying to put as much distance between them as she could. It was useless.

The one in the middle cracked their knuckles. “You’re going to regret running away.”

Chei kept backing up, eventually hitting a wall.

“No use running, kid.”

“Can’t get home from here.”

The bricks scraped against her arms. She let them, trying to will herself into fading through the wall. She wanted to be anywhere but here. Hopelessly, Chei tried to summon up the power she’d felt before. If she could Firebend her way out of here, it would easily scare them off, right?

She closed her eyes and tried to muster up that fiery energy. It felt closed off, like she’d opened the door and it’d locked behind her. She couldn’t access it. So Chei tried to Earthbend, but that was just as much of a failure. To Earthbend one has to be brave, strong. They have to stand their ground and be confident in what they were doing. Chei didn’t feel so confident now, backed up against the wall as one of the men tried to buckle handcuffs around her wrists. 

Fire shot through them. “Watch it!” Someone called out, and the men turned around to face them. Chei couldn’t really see the fight past the wall they were creating, but she could feel the heat, could see the flames dancing up the alleyway walls.

One of the men stumbled back as their arm was badly burned. Chei watched on for a bit, but it became more and more evident that whoever they were in a fight with was there to rescue her. Luckily they had drawn the guards further from Chei, so she stood, planted both feet firmly on the ground, took a deep breath, and lifted the ground, throwing the middle one into the air. He landed about 20 feet away, groaning and clutching his leg.

The other two looked at each other, then back at Chei. “Let’s get outta here!” One of them yelled. 

“But the girl-”

“Leave her. We’ll get pounded if we stay!”

They both bolted from the ally, running right past the mystery man and their boss.

Chei looked at the Firebender. He didn’t look much older than her, maybe sixteen or seventeen, with black cargo shorts, a red tank top, and a bag thrown over his shoulder. He cleared his throat, but said nothing.

After a short pause, Chei spoke up. “Thanks for the help.”

“No problem.” He squinted at her and asked, “You an Earthbender?”

Chei nodded. That should’ve been apparent, considering she  _ had  _ just Earthbended in front of him, but maybe he was just double checking. For the sake of humor, she asked, “You a Firebender?”

He tucked his hands into his pockets and chuckled. “Yeah, just a bit. Sorry, it’s just surprising to see someone from the Earth Kingdom so far away.”

“Uh… yeah.” She scratched the back of her neck. “I’m Chei.”

“Xen.” He looked her up and down, then gestured to her arm. “You okay?”

Chei looked down. There was a huge burn on her arm from when she’d escaped the cell. “Prison break, you know how it is.”

Xen laughed, albeit a bit nervously. “I'm going to assume you’re joking. Come back home with me, I’ll take care of the burn.”

Chei flinched defensively. “I can get it.”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “I, uh, didn’t think an Earthbender would be as skilled in treating burns as, say, a Firebender.”

“Touchè.” Chei pursed her lips and debated. She didn’t really have anywhere else to go, and it’s not like this guy didn’t just save her. “Alright, I’ll give.” 

Xen’s home ended up being right down the street, a small building with barely enough space for two rooms and a bathroom. They passed right through what looked like a kitchen into a backroom. It was poorly lit with two beds and a rotting dresser. 

“Have a seat,” Xen said, patting the right bed. “I’ll go get the first aid kit.” 

Chei sat cautiously, afraid that the bed would crumble beneath her if given too much force. The more she observed the room, the more uneasy she felt. The walls and ceilings were splintering, the bed covers were frayed at the ends, and the only touch of personalization was a set of pictures pinned above the dresser, all faded. Curious, Chei walked over to get a closer look. 

Most of the photos had two adults and three kids, all of them smiling as if they didn’t know the doom in their future. Chei figured one of the kids must be Xen, and the father looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite pin down why. 

“I see you’ve met my family.” Xen mused. His voice sounded fine, but the solemn look in his eyes betrayed him.

“I-I’m sorry!” Chei was quick to apologize, feeling suddenly guilty. This guy was so quick to welcome her into his home, and she made him feel worse by bringing up his deceased family.

“No, it’s fine.” Xen fiddled his thumbs and stared down at his feet. “If it was some big secret, I wouldn’t be hanging them there.”

“Still, I feel like I’ve overstepped.”

“It’s okay. Now sit down so I can clean up your arm.”

Chei obeyed, sitting posture-perfect on the edge of the bed. It dipped beneath her, and again as Xen sat next to her. 

“Hold out your arm,” He said, so Chei did. He quickly ran a wet cloth up and down her arm, cleaning off all the dirt, then swiped some white lotion out of a small canister and began rubbing circles. She expected it to burn, but it didn’t. It felt cool and tingly, almost numbing.

“How’d you get such a bad burn anyways?”

“Prison break,” Chei repeated. Xen cocked an eyebrow, so Chei explained, “How do you think I ended up all the way out here? I went to meet with my new-” Chei paused. She probably should tell Xen she was the Avatar, since he was being so nice about everything and it may put him in further danger, but… He was treating her normally. No high honor or expectations. She had only been the Avatar for two days and was already sick of it. Surely she could avoid the topic a little longer. “My new bending instructor, but when I got in the car, they knocked me out.”

“What would they want with you?” Xen asked, then hurried to add, “No offense. It’s just- are you royalty or something?”

Chei chuckled. “I guess my family  _ is _ part of the Minor Congression.” 

Xen hit her with a blank stare. Chei sighed.

“I suppose the Earth Kingdom has a more complicated government system. I’m from what  _ used _ to be Ba Sing Se, but it was divided up after the dynasty fell- or, resigned, really. There’s the Seven Councilmen, who were originally implemented by the last King but have since chosen new members among themselves, and then there’s the Minor Congression, which is made up of representatives from all major towns in the Earth Kingdom. Think of the Councilmen as the King and the Congression as their advisory council.”

“You’re right, that is complicated.” Xen rubbed his hands off on the cloth and put the cap on the lotion. “You should be good to go.”

“Thanks!” Chei smiled at him, but immediately felt awkward as she was unsure of what to do next. Did she leave? Wait for him to offer food? Her stomach growled, and she knew she needed the second option, but it was only polite to do the first.

Luckily, she was saved by someone else walking in the room. He looked very similar to Xen, with the same black hair and square jaw. He was wearing pretty much the same thing, too, but with a beat up jacket slung over his shoulders. “Am I interrupting something?”

Xen startled. “Wasn’t expecting to see you back so soon.”

“Sold out early I guess. Who’s your friend?”

“Chei,” Xen hastened, then corrected, “Uh, this is Chei. I helped break her out of a fight. Chei, this is my brother, Iden.”

Iden nodded and smiled. “A fight, huh?”

Chei was confused, “Your brother?” She didn’t want to say it aloud, but the way Xen had spoken made it seem like all his family was dead. Immediately, she felt far more awkward than before, so she just shook her head and answered, “Yeah, I was kidnapped.”

“Figured you weren’t from around here with those green rags. Stick out like a sore thumb.” Iden had a bit of an accent, which surprised Chei - mostly because Xen didn’t have one - but it wasn’t huge. It was barely noticeable, more lingering under his breath like he was trying to hide it. “Kidnapped, really?”

“Come on, you know that not everything that goes down in this town is entirely legal,” Xen leveled. “Just because you pretend not to see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.”

“Not my fault I wasn’t born with the ability to spit fire from my fingertips.” Iden crossed his arms and sat down on the bed opposite them. “What about you, Chei? Earthbender?”

“Uh, something like that.”

“I always thought Earthbenders were the best. Can you Metalbend yet?”

Chei’s gaze cast downwards. “No.”

“That sucks, well can you at least-”

“Hey,” Xen interrupted. “Stop harassing my guest? I was just about to make dinner, maybe you could _ help.” _ The way he said “help” sounded like it should be followed by an “or else.”

Iden rolled his eyes. “Fine, but only so you don’t burn the food.”

Chei watched them go, unsure if she should offer her help or not. She had never been in this situation before - granted, most people probably hadn’t been in the situation of getting kidnapped and ending up on a different continent in a stranger's home while he cooks you dinner. She bounced her knees anxiously as the minutes ticked by.

Luckily, she never had to make a decision.  _ Unluckily _ , it was because someone was pounding on the door. Chei stood to go get it, but froze. Probably best if she didn’t reveal herself.

She heard the door open, and then Xen’s voice, “Hello?”

“We are looking for the Avatar, and are inquiring about any knowledge of her whereabouts.” Chei inched around the corner to try and get a closer look. Different men than before, but wearing the same military-style outfits. Was the whole city after her?

“Uh, the Avatar?” Xen asked.

“I didn’t even know the Avatar was back,” Iden added, stepping up behind Xen. 

“She was last spotted on the street outside your home,” The man said. “Witnesses said they saw you bring her here.”

Iden laughed. “I think I’d know if we were friends with the Avatar.”

“So you don’t mind if my men and I have a look around?”

“Uh,” Xen started, clearly uneasy about the request.

Iden didn’t seem to notice his brother’s distress, though, as he agreed. “Sure.”

Chei’s eyes shot around the room. She had to hide, but where? Under the bed? Behind the curtains? The dresser wasn’t big enough. Should she try and make a run for it?

“There she is!” One of the guards was standing in the doorway, pointing at her, and Chei had just enough time to dodge as fire shot over her head. 

“I think you’ve got the wrong person!” Iden called, running behind them and trying to get a look at Chei. 

“Get back!” Chei commanded him, rolling and extending her arms like she had done earlier, intending to shoot fire, but coming up short. “Oh, come on,” she murmured, trying again. Nothing happened. A fireball whizzed past her ear, so she blocked them off with a wall of Earth instead.

The flames curled around the edges, and it was far more difficult than it had ever been to focus. Still, Chei took a deep breath, steadied herself, and pushed the boulder towards the attackers. It hit and moved them back into the opposite wall. Chei rose to her feet and dashed out of the room. 

“What’s going on?” Xen stood, dumbfounded. 

“I need to go.”

“Alone?” Iden asked. 

“I’ll go with you,” Xen said. 

Chei watched from the corner of her eyes as the men began to rise from the rubble. “No, I need to go far away.”

She ran outside, but Xen and Iden followed her. “Come on,” Xen said, “Let us come. You just destroyed our home, not like we have anywhere else to go.”

Chei had barely enough time to look sheepish, and muttered an apology. Looking around, she didn’t see anything that would get her far. No cars, horses, motorcycles. She didn’t have time for this. “You can come if you can find a car.”

“That’s easy, there’s one down the block. Belongs to my boss.” Iden pointed to his right, and the three of them took off in that direction. The attackers were close behind, covered in rubble but quickly gaining. She dared a glance over her shoulder, and saw they had only seconds before catching up. 

The car in question ended up not even being a four seater. Iden hopped into the driver’s seat, naturally, and Xen fell into the passenger’s side. As for Chei, she focused on putting up rock barriers so that the car wasn’t incinerated on the spot, running behind until they sped up too much, then leaping onto the trunk.

It took a moment to gain her balance, but once she did, she slipped on the median. 

They sped away, leaving the men in their dust.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this ends on a bit of an abrupt ending, but it was getting too long, so i had to go back and cut it in the middle or it would end up being 10k i swear, hopefully it all makes sense   
> thank you for reading!! it means a lot to me that people liked it, and i love getting comics. i honestly didn't think anyone would be interested in reading my own person oc fic, so it's really great to see that other people enjoy it :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's looking like the updates are gonna be around once a month, pending schoolwork. of course it may fluctuate, it's pretty much just "whenever the next chapter is done" lmao, but i have been trying to write whenever i can, and i am VERY much enjoying creating this. i hope you are too!

“Who’s car did you say this was?” Chei asked. They had driven out of the city a little bit ago, and she was starting to get cramped in the median, shifting her legs as often as she could.

“My boss’s,” Iden said casually.

Chei cocked an eyebrow. “And it was your first idea to steal it?”

“Hate the guy, he doesn’t pay me enough.”

“Iden works at a produce stand,” Xen chimes in. “It’s the only place that would hire him.”

“Hey, I could get a better job if I wanted to!”

“Then why haven’t you?”

“Hey,” Chei started, noting the sun starting to lower in the sky. “Where are we going?”

Iden shrugged, Xen answered, “I thought you would tell us.”

“How would I tell you?”

“Well, you are the Avatar.”

Iden chimed in, “I think we really need to talk about that.”

Chei ignored him. “I’ve never left my city before, let alone been on this side of the world!”

“I’m sure we can park and camp somewhere soon,” Xen reasoned, gesturing to the wide open plains around them. There were some mountains in the distance, and a bit of forestry, but no signs of civilization.

“With what camping supplies?”

Everyone was quiet; it was broken by Iden, “Well, I’m sure there’s some food somewhere.”

Xen popped open the glove compartment. Empty. He looked beneath the seats. Vacant.

“Maybe the trunk?”

They pulled over onto the side of the road and popped it open. It was empty, save for grass and a few select branches.

“Well,” Xen stared down at it. “This sucks.”

Iden scratched his neck, “We’ll just go to the next town over. Say we have the Avatar with us, then they will give us whatever we want.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Chei said. Not only did she not want to be swarmed before she’d even started training, there’s also the matter of those guards looking for her. “But we can still go there. Do you know where it is?”

Iden shrugged. “Vaguely.”

“That’s…” Chei shook her head. “That’s going to have to work.”

They climbed back in the car, turning around and driving away from the sun. What felt like eons passed, but it was probably closer to an hour or so, when they spotted civilization, just on the brink of sunset. 

They parked on one of the streets and headed into what looked like a corner store. The town itself looked pretty beat down, despite being bustling with life. It looked out-of-touch with the rest of the world, and for that, Chei was grateful. 

“Oh, we should get these!” Iden cheered, holding up a box of candy.

Xen sighed. “We need to get  _ real _ food.”

“This is real food!”

“Food that will fill us up,” Chei chimed in, staring lustfully at the shelf of take-and-bake meals. “How much do we have?”

Xen and Iden both started rummaging around their pockets. They both pulled out a few silver coins. 

“Uh oh,” Xen murmured. 

Chei sighed. “Cup noodles it is.”

They grabbed their noodles, wincing as they were barely able to pay, and went outside to eat. 

“Next stop, sleep and money.” Iden slurped his noodles. “In hindsight, it probably wasn’t a great idea to run away from everything we’ve ever known with someone we just met.”

Chei tried for a smile. It felt awkward. “I appreciate it anyways.”

Iden waved her off. “No use worrying about it now.”

“Hey,” Xen interrupted, squinting at something down the street. “Is that guy okay?”

Chei followed his gaze. There was a ragged old man huddled against the wall. His hair was ragged and dirty, with holes adorning a stained shirt. “I feel like we should go ask.”

So they did. The three of them took their cup noodles and made their way down the street, cautiously approaching the man to see what was wrong. 

“Excuse me, sir?” Chei began, aiming to keep her voice soft and gentle. “My friends and I were just sitting nearby, and we saw- we thought you looked-“ She sighed. Words weren’t working well with her. 

“We were wondering if you were okay,” Iden finished. 

“I will be once that wretched thing is killed!” The man scorned. 

“What thing?” Xen asked. 

“The badgermoles!” He hissed. 

Chei frowned. There shouldn’t be any badgermoles nearby. They were from the Earth Kingdom. “It’s okay, they aren’t here.”

“But they are!” He protested. “Every time I go towards the mountains, I see them! I can’t go home!”

Chei exchanged glances with her friends. They shared a confused look. 

“Please, I’ll pay you anything to get rid of them!” 

“How much?” Iden immediately asked. 

“As much as you want. As much as I have!” The pleading was almost hysterical. How could one man be so afraid of badgermoles?

“We’ll do it!” Iden agreed, all too excitedly. 

Xen glared at him. “Except we don’t have a ride out to the mountains.” Their car wouldn’t make it that far with so little gas, and Chei doubted it would be able to drive stability in such rough terrain anyways. 

“There’s a caravan heading along that route,” The man said. “They provide free rides as long as you tip them.”

Chei nodded. So it  _ wasn’t _ free. They didn’t have the money for that. 

Iden scratched his head. “You’re gonna have to pay half upfront.”

The man scowled. “How do I know you won’t take my money and run?”

“Hmm,” Iden crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “Guess you’ll have to find someone else to solve your badgermole problem.”

“No! No, wait!” He was already reaching for his pockets, pulling out a small sack of gold. 

Chei took it, weighed it in her hand. It felt like a good sum. She peered inside, and tried to hide her shocked expression. “Yep, this will work!” Her voice squeaked. 

They found the caravan, but it didn’t leave until morning, so they set in for the night. There was a small motel, which the gold more than covered a night at. They all crammed into one room, but luckily weren’t kept awake by talking. Iden and Xen were both out like a light. Unfortunately, Chei was kept awake with her own thoughts. 

She wasn’t too keen on the idea of hunting badgermoles, but she also doubted there were any there. She would rather go, find none, and lie about destroying them so she could pocket the money then tell him upfront. They  _ needed _ that money. What they received today was nice, but it wouldn’t last that long. Chei needed to get home. 

She must have dozed off at some point, but she was awakened by Xen and Iden rustling around the room. Xen was holding a cup of tea, while Iden was rummaging through a small grocery bag. 

“What’ya buy?” Chei slurred, sitting up drearily. 

“Just some food for the road.” Iden pulled out a small bag and tossed it at Chei. She caught it, opened it to find a small pastry. It smelled delicious. She gobbled it down before asking, through a mouthful of croissant, “How much money do we have left?”

“Enough,” Xen answered, and that was that.

They got ready, packed up their bags, and returned to where they had found the caravan the night before. It came quickly, and they hopped on.

The caravan looked old and dated. It wasn’t often she saw old fashioned vehicles, now that most of the world has transitioned to automotives, but this had all the large, wooden wheels, horses, and reigns of the caravans Chei had only seen in pictures. The floor was worn down with a canopy perched on top, hanging down, ragged and dirty on the edges. 

There was, however, a more updated section of the caravan. It was where all the seating was. There were five of them there right now - Chei, Xen, Iden, and two other travelers. There were two other drivers towards the front, holding the reigns. The passengers were quiet, save for a radio on one of the men’s laps. It was tinny and old, but spoke into the silence:

_ “The Avatar has gone missing, mere days after the anticipated reveal. She was last spotted in a small Fire Nation town near the mountains. The individual is from the Earth Kingdom. Medium height, black hair…” _

The announcer continued on, describing Chei, her whereabouts, what she looked like. She tried to avert her eyes, hide her face, but no one seemed to pay her any mind.

Soon enough, they got close enough to their destination. There was what could have been called an entrance nearby. And it’s “could have been” because it was the only thing close to resembling an entrance, but it didn’t really look like one. It was lopsided, and looked like the only thing keeping it from collapsing was a moderately strong gust of wind. Nevertheless, they ventured inside. 

It was dark, so Xen lit a small flame in his hand. They then stared at Chei, as if expecting her to do the same.

She closed her eyes, tried to summon the same power she had felt before. A small flicker appeared, only to die out seconds later.

“So, haven’t mastered all four elements then?” Iden asked, as if it was the most casual thing in the world.

“Haven’t even mastered  _ one, _ ” Chei sighed. “Worst Avatar ever.”

“You don’t mean that. We saw you Earthbend back at home,” Xen said.

“But I never learned to Metalbend,” Chei explained. “And you aren’t considered proficient in Earthbending until you can Metalbend.”

Iden snorted. “Metalbending wasn’t even a thing 150 years ago. If you can Earthbend, you’ve mastered Earthbending. Case closed.”

Chei was about to retaliate, but froze. There was something in the wall, to her right. “Do you guys hear that?”

“Hear what?” Xen asked. Chei shushed them, inching closer to the wall. Now that she was listening, it wasn’t a sound, more like a sense. A vibration, like she knew something was there, even though it was quiet.

“There’s something behind this,” Chei gestured to the stone in front of them.

“Yeah, more rocks,” Iden rolled his eyes. 

“No, there’s something moving…” Chei tried to look closer. “In the rocks.”

It all happened too fast. The wall started caving in, pushing them back as they sprinted further down the tunnel. But gravity was quicker than them, hurling rocks in every direction. Until they reached a dead end. Iden and Xen crouched against the wall, the flame dying out and the entrance blocked off so that it was pitch black. But Chei could feel it, she could tell where the rocks were falling. She stood her ground, extended her arms, and forced them up. 

Everything stopped at once, the moment held with bated breath as they all panted and gasped for air.

Slowly, they all calmed down. Xen reignited the flame, larger this time so that they could see around them. They were trapped in a small chasm, maybe five feet wide and long, seven or eight feet tall. Rocks were all suspended in the air, Chei the only one keeping it from falling and squashing them. 

Iden cleared his throat, “You know how you said you weren’t a master Earthbender? Well…”

“I would be scared if you weren’t,” Xen finished.

“So you’re not scared?” It was meant to be teasing, but Chei was too strained at worried at the time, it was more worried.

“I’m petrified,” Xen answered.

“Scared shitless,” Iden added.

Xen waited a pause before asking, “Do you think you can get us out?”

“I dunno.” It wasn’t the answer they wanted, but it was what they had. Chei’s voice was strained when she continued, “I don’t know where we are, and thinking is a little hard since I’m holding up a mountain.”

They both nodded. Things were looking a bit grim, and Chei was starting to wonder if she had just postponed their untimely end.

The rocks began to rumble again.

“Uh oh,” Xen murmured. 

But Chei wasn’t worried. In fact, it felt as if a weight was being lifted off her shoulders. A long snout broke through the rock, inches from Chei’s face. She yelped and leaped backwards, but the mountain did not fall. A badgermole appeared before them, bigger than anything Chei had ever imagined.

“Woah,” She breathed. “They’re real.”

Iden cleared his throat, his voice trembling. “Guess that old man wasn’t so paranoid after all.”

Chei inched closer to it. She held her hand out, hesitantly pet it’s snout. It was dark, so she couldn’t see much, but the guy was huge. Brown - the same color as the rocks behind - with two black and one white stripe, right down the middle of it’s face. As she moved her hand up between it’s eyes, it was like a wave washed over her. She was blanketed in sudden, bleak understanding.

“This isn’t their home,” Chei explained. “They were forced to flee from their home. Too many large cities were being built nearby.” She looked down. “Will all the new noise and vibrations, they couldn’t see.”

Xen seemed solemn when he asked, “How can we fix that?”

“We can’t.” Chei pet the badgermole a lot more, sympathetic. They were all so far from home. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that she was feeling somewhat similar; missing her home, out of place in an unfamiliar environment.

If people from the Fire Nation knew they were here, it might become a public spectacle. Like the man from the town, they may become afraid, might try to get rid of them. She knew the days of hunting dragons were long gone, fallen with the tyranny, but people were naturally scared of what they didn’t understand. She couldn’t risk it. “We can’t let anyone know they’re here.”

“What?” Iden asked, “Why?”

“They’ve already fled their home. They don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“She’s right,” Xen chimed in. “You heard the man from the town. He wants them  _ gone. _ We have to lie and say there was nothing here.”

“What about the money?” Iden asked.

“We will have to make do with what we have,” Chei answered. “I’m sure we can make money some other way.” She turned to face the badgermole. “Can you help us get home?”

The badgermole nuzzled her hand, and they climbed onto it’s back. The Earth parted for them, and Chei momentarily envied the badgermoles. They made it look so easy.

Then, quick as could be, they were out of the mountain. Chei patted their nose again, swearing under her breath to do all she could to protect them. Then just like that, they were gone. Back into the mountains, and the group was left waiting for the caravan to swing back around.

“Aren’t Avatars supposed to have an animal guide?” Iden interrupted the silence.

“You can’t take a Badgermole out into the world,” Chei protested, knowing where he was going with this. “It’s out of their natural habitat. They won’t survive out there. Plus, that wouldn’t really accomplish the goal of keeping them a secret.”

“But you need an animal guide!”

“I’ll go find a dragon or something.” 

Xen pursed his lips. “I thought dragons were extinct.”

Chei crossed her arms. Now that she thought about it, she remembered being  _ told _ that, but something was telling her it wasn’t right. She sighed. No use dwelling on it. “We have a car. We’ll be fine.”

It wasn’t long before the caravan was nearby. They got on, and rode their way back into town.

\--------------------

The man wasn’t happy with their response. “What do you mean, they weren’t there?”

“There were no badgermoles in the mountains,” Chei said, and then haphazardly added, “ _ sir _ .”

“But I saw them!” The old man stomped his foot like a toddler. It was a harsh contrast from how he had been acting before - desperate and afraid. “I saw them, I saw them,  _ I saw them! _ They didn’t just disappear!”

“You may have seen something else,” Xen reasoned. “Perhaps another animal, or a spirit passing through.”

“It wasn’t a damn spirit! I  _ know _ what I saw!”

Chei sighed. There was no use convincing this man. Her only hope was that everyone else wrote him off as a raging lunatic. 

Iden asked exasperatedly, “So are you gonna pay us or not?”

The man screamed, not unlike a small child who had his fun taken from them, and stomped away. 

Iden answered his own question, “I guess not.”

“It’ll be fine, we have enough for…” Xen peeked inside the bag of coins they had received yesterday. “A bit, a least.”

“I have a question.” Iden interjected. He turned to face Chei. “How could you tell what was going on with those badgermoles?”

Chei thought about it. “I dunno. As soon as I touched them, it was like… like a deeper connection. I could feel what they were feeling. I think they were trying to show me, and help me understand. They weren’t meant to be there.” Chei looked at her feet. “I think it was their way of asking for help.”

“What, they were asking you to protect them?” Iden asked.

“To keep their home safe, I think.”

“Do you think they knew you were…” Xen gestured vaguely. “Y’know.”  _ The Avatar. _

Chei nodded, “Probably. Do you think it’s obvious?”

Iden quickly shook his head, but Xen was the one who answered, “We couldn’t tell. I doubt anyone else can either.”

“But they can probably tell you’re not from here,” Iden added. “Mostly by your clothes.”

Chei looked down. She really  _ had  _ been walking around in green and brown clothes. It was basically putting a target on her back. She was surprised no one had stopped them yet. 

Xen put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. “It’ll be fine, Chei. We have enough for now. We can rest, or we can keep driving.”

“Either way,” Iden smiled, “We’ll do it together.”

This whole thing was terrifying, especially thrown out of training so soon. She didn’t have anyone to guide her, but she wasn’t alone anymore. 

Everything was going to be alright.

Chei smiled back at them. “Together it is.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> obligatory *the power of friendship* ending lol  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the delay! you know the excuse: been busy with school. nevertheless, enjoy!

They decided to keep traveling after that. They would set out the next morning, and continue heading East. While not entirely sure where they were going, they reasoned that they would either get there, or get somewhere that could lead them there. 

However, there was one vital thing Chei wanted to work on: Firebending. She’d used it with ease when escaping from the prison, but had been unable to create more than a candle flame since. Xen said he would help Chei, so they headed to the outskirts of town right after sunrise. Now they stood side-by-side, Xen showing off various Firebending techniques and Chei trying her best to copy them.

“You need to be more loose with it,” Xen said, pivoting his foot to bend in a circle.

Chei tried her hardest, copying everything Xen did to the best of her ability, but it still only made a few sparks.

Iden sat idly on a large boulder nearby, tossing a rock back and forth between his hands. “Why don’t you just replicate the scenario which caused her to Firebend before?”

“That would involve a prison, a kidnapping,” Chei listed, “and several very unfriendly guards.”

Iden frowned. “Maybe you just need to be scared?” 

They stood around for a few moments, then Xen yelled, “Boo!” 

Chei glared at him. She was getting very frustrated with her inability to bend, and Xen wasn’t helping. “Maybe I just need to try something easier.”

“We could try to start with breathing?” Xen suggested.

Chei nodded, feeling uneasy that she had to completely start from scratch. They sat down across from each other. Chei copied how Xen sat - legs folded, hands resting on his knees, posture perfectly straight. 

“You need to inhale for seven seconds, then exhale for eight,” Xen instructed. “An important part of Firebending is knowing exactly when to breathe. If your breathing doesn’t line up with your bending, it won’t be as powerful, if it works at all.”

Chei tried it. She inhaled for seven seconds, then exhaled for eight. Then she did it again, and again, and again. After several deep breaths, Chei felt very relaxed. “How do you relate this to breathing?”

“Inhale with movement,” Xen took in a large breath, “exhale with fire.” He let it out. 

Chei followed suit, the two of them breathing together. It was calm and serene. Finally, Chei decided, “I think I’m ready to try bending again.”

“Good.” They stood up and got into a ready position.

Xen circled his arm around, then stepped forward and pushed with his hands. Chei copied him, making sure to push all of her force forward as she stepped and exhaled. A tiny flame came out, but it was nothing compared to Xen’s raging fire.

“Don’t put so much weight into it,” Xen suggested, doing the move again. “Just quickly lean into it.”

Chei tried this, careful not to force all of her weight forward, as she has always done with Earthbending. The flame came easier this time, the heat shooting back at her. It wasn’t nearly as powerful as Xen’s, but she was determined to fix that. Chei circled her arms back around and did it again, and again, and again, until Iden jumped back from the force of it.

“Jeez!” he yelped, scurrying backwards. “Aim that somewhere else!”

But Chei couldn’t feel sorry. Grinning, she cheered, “Let’s try something else!”

Xen quickly matched her excitement, a smile breaking out on his face. “Try this.” He swung his arms back in a circle, a continuous stream of fire trailing behind his palms. Chei aimed to copy the move. It took a few attempts before she felt the boiling heat manifest below her fingers. 

“I got it! I got it!” The fire dissipated and Chei jumped up and down, clapping her hands together like a child who had just had their first cookie. Cheering, she repeated the move, almost scathing a nearby bush on fire.

“Woah!” Iden fell off his spot, perched on the boulder. He hastily stood up, brushing dirt off his pants. “Watch it!”

Chei and Xen laughed. “Oh man, you should’ve seen your face!” Xen teased.

“Yeah, yeah.” Iden sighed. “Maybe we should start heading back. I don’t want to drive too much at night, and I’m getting a little hungry.”   
As if on cue, Chei’s stomach rumbled. She clutched her arms to her abdomen in a plea to silence it, but begrudgingly admitted, “Maybe.”

They grabbed their things and started their trek back to town. It wasn’t a long way, as they hadn’t wanted to get lost, and so they’d made sure the town was still in view. Still, it was a good fifteen or twenty minutes before they returned, slightly dirtier and more exhausted than before.

They went back to the town’s grocery store. They did have some food to travel with, but since they were here, they figured they might as well get something fresh.

But as soon as they were through the doors, a warm aroma surrounded them. “Look!” Iden said, running to the side. “Cookies!”

Chei wanted to cry; it had been so long since she’d had freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Not even because she was away from home - she hadn’t had them in  _ years. _

“As good as that sounds,” Xen started, “we should probably get real food.”

Iden was visibly upset. “But it is real food! And we said something fresh. These are fresh!”

Chei wanted to agree, wanted to buy out the entire stock of chocolate chip cookies and devour them all in a single sitting, but the more reasonable, Avatar side of her fought it. “Unfortunately, Xen’s right. We need something that will last us more than ten minutes.”

“We can ration them throughout the entire day,” Iden tried to debate, but it seemed he knew it was a losing battle.

Xen looked around them. “What about sandwiches? Looks like they have subs, paninis… I’m sure we can find something here.”

Chei followed him over, but something caught her eye. Around the corner, there were three men, all in black, with sunglasses - despite them being indoors. They seemed to be whispering about something. Chei was going to write it off as none of her business, but then one of them shot a glance over their shoulder, making direct eye contact.

“Guys,” Chei whispered, tugging on Iden’s sleeve. “I think we need to go.”

“Why? We haven’t even picked out our lunch yet!”

“No, we need to  _ go.” _ Chei nudged her head in the men’s direction. Seeing that they still weren’t getting it, she hit both of their arms and grit out through her teeth, “ _ Look.” _

The men were now walking towards them. “Shit!” Iden yelped, grabbing a handful of sandwiches and dashing for the door. Xen followed close behind, but Chei wanted to be calmer about it. Maybe they were going to ask her a question, maybe they were just lost and looking for directions.

Then one of them kicked fire out from his boot, and Chei ran.

She threw up a wall of stone behind her, dashing around the corner. Xen and Iden were still sprinting up ahead, appearing to be heading towards their car. Chei could only pray that they would make it.

Two other men popped out from behind a building, separating Chei from her friends. 

“You can’t run from us,” one of them growled out. Chei yelped, turning around to go the other way, only to be met with the group from the store.

“And where do you think you’re going?” another asked, voice raspy and breath smelling of cigarette smoke. 

Chei didn’t know what to do. Her eyes darted around, searching frantically for an exit, but there was none. Even Iden and Xen were long gone - probably hadn’t realized what had happened. Clenching her fists, Chei knew she would have to fight her way out of this.

She summoned a chunk of dirt, compressing it to be tougher and lunging it at the people behind her. Two of them dodged, but the middle one was hit square in the chest. He flew backwards, groaning after impact.

Chei spun on her heels and thrusted her arms outwards, exhaling in a careful replication of the Firebending she had just been taught. Sure enough, flames shot forth from her fingers, climbing at her attackers.

One of them spun in a circle and shot the flames back at her. Chei rolled and dodged. Her hands went flat on the ground and she summoned the power beneath her, sharpening pebbles to launch back in retaliation. Most were dodged, but it scraped the closest man. He threw his hands up to protect his face, pulling them away to blood on his hands, a few light scratches on the sides of his palms and cheeks. 

Their (stolen) car rammed into the attackers behind Chei, sending them flying into a wall. Xen reflected back a bit of fire shot their way while Iden let out the overdramatic battle cry, “You’ll never take her!” Chei made a beeline towards the car, leaping over the trunk and landing squarely in the back seat.

“ _ Go, go, go!” _ she chanted anxiously, eager to get away. One of the attackers tried to run after the car, so Chei launched a giant boulder at him. It landed square in the chest.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Chei leaned back in her chair. “Glad that’s over with.”

“Me too,” Iden agreed, taking a bite of something.

“Wait,” Chei leaned forward in her seat, “are you still eating your sandwich?”

Iden swallowed and protested, “I wasn’t done yet!” 

“Uh huh.”

“I wasn’t just going to toss out a perfectly good sandwich because someone was attacking you!”

Chei rolled her eyes. Xen held up the grocery bag of food. “Now that we’re in the clear…” He shook it temptingly. “Lunch?”

“Uh,” Iden shot a glance behind him. “I wouldn’t say we’re in the clear just yet.”

Chei followed his gaze. There were three cars on their tail, quickly gaining. 

She stood up on the backseat. The car shook and wobbled beneath her as Xen dashed around obstacles. It was hard to keep balance, but she eventually was able to help herself up with the front seats, and maintain a wide enough stance to stay steady-ish. 

Her gaze darted around. They were moving so fast, it was hard to formulate a plan. Buildings, poles. It looked like this remote town was only just starting to get regular electricity, because the wirelines were still being built. Maybe one of the construction vehicles could help?

“What do we do?” Iden shouted over the roar of the engine and the crunching gravel beneath them, pointing forward. Chei followed his finger. There was a large lake ahead of them, too wide to go around, with a slight drop going into it.

“Waterbend us over!” Xen tried to command.

Chei was starting to panic. “It’s not that easy!”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t fucking Waterbend!” She searched frantically for something,  _ anything _ that could get them out of this mess. Their enemies were quickly gaining, and Chei could see a few of them beginning to stand like she was, getting ready to Firebend.

And then a plan started to form. 

A plan so terrible, so outrageous, they would never see it coming.

And it just might work.

“Xen,” she started, swallowing heavily and hoping against hope that this wasn’t a big mistake. “When I say so, make a sharp turn left.”

Iden looked back at her, concerned and confused. “Are you sure?”

“No,” Chei confessed. “But why would that matter?”

The enemies were right on their tail, and they were within range of the lake. It was too late to turn back now. 

Chei shot up a ramp right next to the lake, straight ahead of them. They neared closer… closer…

“ _ Now!” _

Their car took a sharp left, veering away from the ramp. Many of the other cars didn’t have time to react. They followed the path and went straight up the ramp and off the edge. 

“Watch out!” Xen yelled, as they started skidding to a stop. Not slow enough. Tires kicked dirt up into their faces, blinding them, so Xen didn’t even have a chance to try and maneuver them away. Instead, they slipped continuously closer to the edge, helpless to stop the quickly shrinking space between them and the lake. 

Chei was knocked down as the back wheel skirted over the ledge. She gripped onto the back of Iden’s seat as they grinded to a stop, tipping and tumbling over at the last moment. 

The air settled around then, crashed and immobile, but safe. Iden and Xen were still buckled in, but Chei had skidded a foot or two from the car. Uninjured, Chei flashed her friends a quick thumbs up. They breathed a collective sigh of relief, but it may have been too soon. 

One other car had been able to stop early enough. It was about twenty feet away, with only two people. One stayed in the driver's seat, but the other climbed out. He made a show of slamming the door behind him, taking his time walking over as Chei, Xen, and Iden were still too disoriented and barely registered his presence.

The man was dressed in all black, save for his long, beat up trench coat with red trim. His boots had small heels, and they went up to his knees, hugging his legs almost as much as his pants. His hair was bright red, undercut and combed to one side, with a series of bright silver earrings on display. His ratty, fingerless gloves were shown off when he cracked his knuckles. 

Chei finally came to her senses, but not soon enough. The man was standing above her, staring down menacingly. 

When he spoke, his voice was low and gravely. “Wait until Lord Sozin hears about this.”

“S-Sozin?” Iden repeated, dazed. Where had Chei heard that name before?

“Heh.” He stomped besides Chei’s head and spit into the dirt. She flinched as he kicked her arm, trying to nudge her onto her back. 

Chei looked around frantically, desperate for an escape.

“Y’know, this may be enough to get me on the boss’s good side again.” He leaned over Chei with a sinister grin.

_ Water on one side, Earth on the other three… No land masses or protection for getaway… _

“Just as I have been since the  _ last  _ Avatar...”

_ What about the car? Was there anything in the car that could help? _

“Ah, screw it.” He kicked Chei again, hard enough to move her this time. She groaned, but otherwise tried to focus on an escape route. 

He kicked again, forceful enough to earn a startling  _ yelp _ .

_ What about escaping into the water? Could they swim fast enough? _

The next blow wasn’t to her arm, but to the side of her abdomen. She flipped onto her side and coughed for air. 

“Oh, so now you’re listening?” the man mocked, kicking again. 

Chei struggled to regain balance, a white heat threatening to take over. It bubbled in the back of consciousness like acid, stinging and burning for release. 

“Yeah, not so powerful now, are ya?” He kicked her again, then leaned down to stare into her eyes. They were menacing, reminding Chei of snakes in the way they seemed to hiss and tease a jump at her. 

The heat tried to burst from Chei’s subconscious. She was tempted to let it. It seemed to reach deep into her soul, trying to take over. 

He snorted. “At least Korra put up a fight.”

“Yo, Gerard Way!” Iden called, “Eat  _ shit! _ ”

A hefty footlong sub clocked him right in the side of the head. “ _ Score!” _ Iden cheered, as Xen stepped forward to lunge a whooping fireball at him. 

The heat boiled down to an idle simmer. Chei slowly sat up, clutching the painful knot in her side. 

“You okay?” Iden asked, rushing over to help her. 

“Fine,” she hissed, still catching her breath. 

“He was so distracted by you, we were able to sneak up behind him.” Chei looked over; the two of them were caught up in a very intense Firebending battle. Xen was holding his own, but appeared to be slowly losing grip. 

She should go help him. 

Chei sat up, taking a deep breath in preparation to jump right in. 

“What are you doing?” Iden caught her with a hand on her shoulder. “Only bending you’ll be doing is to help me flip the car.”

Chei wanted to protest, but her side was killing her. And her Firebending wasn’t particularly great. She didn’t honestly think she would survive that intense of a battle. 

“Fine, let’s go.”

Iden helped her hobble over to the car. She brought up the land beneath it to help tip it over. While the mass was a little uneven due to her shakiness, it still flipped. Chei climbed into the back, making sure to securely fasten her seatbelt this time. 

“Time to go!” Iden yelled, climbing into the car and revving the engine. He tested the gas pedal, moving forward a bit, before turning around and charging right at the battle. He drove between the two of them. The man was startled, stumbling backwards as Xen grabbed the fallen sandwich and hopped in. 

“What-“ He started, stomping back to his car. “After them!”

They sped away before there was even a chance, spitting dust and gravel up into their enemy’s face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes mcr does exist in my avatar universe and yes i WILL bring this up again (maybe)  
> i have some exciting things coming up for the next chapter... super excited to finally include that sweet, sweet wlw content. hopefully it will be out soon!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowza all i can say is i have taken liberties with canon. that has been very clear with the last chapters but i thought i would repeat it.
> 
> also, this chapter has passing mention of homophobia. it's nothing big, but it IS there.

“So, Chei,” Iden began, poking at their fire with a comically large branch. “Who’s Sozin?”

Xen answered, “The Firelord who started the Hundred Year War.”

“So… he should be dead by now?”

“He is,” Chei spoke up. “That was over two hundred years ago.”

They all stared at the fire solemnly, not daring to wonder what this meant. After escaping earlier, they’d just driven East until dark. The mountains they had visited had long faded from view. Palm trees and other tropical greenery were beginning to pop up, leading Chei to believe they were near the coast. 

“I’ve been thinking-“ Xen began.

“Don’t do that,” Iden interrupted. “If you use your brain too much, it’ll get dirty.”

Xen glared at him. “I’m trying to  _ help. _ Or have you  _ forgotten _ that we are now fugitives?”

Iden shrugged. Chei waved her hand in a circular gesture that meant for Xen to continue. 

“ _ Anyways, _ I’ve been  _ thinking _ , the only way we are ever going to get you back to the Earth Kingdom is by boat. There’s no way we will be able to trek through the mountains.”

“You mean by the Western Air Temple?” Chei asked. “Are we anywhere near there? It may be useful to meet with the Air Nomads.”

“We’re nowhere close. Even if we were, I doubt there’s any Air Nomads there. There still aren’t that many of them. I think they have mostly taken up camp in the Northern and Southern Air Temples.”

Chei tried to picture a world map in her head. The Southern Air Temple was down by the Southern Water Tribe, but the Northern one is very close to Earth Kingdom territory. Maybe they could stop there later on.

“I think Chei brings up a good point.” Iden played with the lettuce on his sandwich - it was the same one that had been chucked at their enemy earlier, but luckily, it had been tightly sealed and remained unharmed. “We should try and find other benders to teach her Water and Airbending.”

Xen frowned, “I think the biggest priority right now is getting home. She can always arrange for teachers after she gets there.”

“The last teacher kidnapped and imprisoned me,” Chei interjected.

“Exactly!” Iden poked at Xen. “She should get the experience while she can, so she isn’t put in more danger later on.”

“Being put in danger is sort of the Avatar’s  _ job,”  _ Xen stated matter-of-factly.

“But it doesn’t  _ have _ to be. You should avoid trouble as much as possible.”

“Traveling to the Air Temple may just put us in more danger. Who knows what’s up there? And you’re not even a bender!”

Chei pinched the bridge of her nose. “Maybe let  _ me _ decide what I feel safe doing?”

They both went silent. Iden picked at his sandwich some more while Xen grabbed the branch and poked at the fire.

“So…” Iden began, swallowing the food in his mouth. “What do you want to do?”

Chei thought about it. It would be nice to learn at the Air Temple. She’d heard Airbending had a lot to do with culture, rather than just mastering the element. It would probably be better - make her a better Avatar - if she went and studied there.

But on the other hand, Chei missed home. She had never been away from home for so long, and she missed her parents, Nao, and Yeno. Plus, she’d never even learned to Metalbend. 

She looked between Xen and Iden. They had nowhere to go. The two of them had risked everything to help her escape, hadn’t just abandoned her outside of the city. They’d tagged along on this directionless journey, eager to help wherever they could. 

She had never been more grateful for anyone in her  _ life. _

“We can’t keep running,” Chei decided. “Until now, all we have done is get food, run from enemies, and drive. We have to choose what to do and where to go. But I don’t think we can do it overnight. I think we need to go back to my home and take it from there. In the morning, we will continue to drive East, either until we hit a dead end, or we find someone who can sail us across the sea.”

Iden nodded. Xen agreed, “I think that’s a great start.”

“So that’s it. Tomorrow morning, we will set out.” Chei closed her eyes. She remembered the rolling fields, the stone buildings, the warmth of the sun. Within a few days, they would be home.

\---------------

They left first thing after sunrise, when the dew was fresh and a morning chill just barely bit to the tip of Chei’s nose.

It was a good thing the Fire Nation cars were solar powered. They drove for quite a while. Turns out palm trees and hog monkeys didn’t necessarily mean you’re on the coast.

Sometime around noon, the sea came into view on one side. Iden moved to hug the beach, and soon enough, they found a small village. It was littered with fishermen’s boats and straw huts.

“Park back here so we can walk into town,” Chei instructed, to which Iden obliged. They were still on the run -  _ especially _ Chei, who had radio messages broadcast all around the Fire Nation in search for her. She doubted the people searching for her were malicious - probably just her family seeking her disappearance - but she didn’t want to draw unwanted attention.

All three of them climbed out of the car. Iden led the way, as he was the least beat-up-looking. Chei and Xen had both taken a visible beating - it showed in the grime in their hair, the dirt on their skin, the tears in their clothes. 

The first building was some type of restaurant. The smell of fish was rancid. Chei loved seafood, but this was just overwhelming. Maybe it was because the ocean was on one side and the restaurant was on the other, but the scent of fish and salt haunted her. 

Iden plugged his nose. “Let’s keep walking.”

The smell faded as they grew further and further away, although there was still an undertone from the salt water. Perhaps that was unavoidable in an ocean village.

Many of the town’s public buildings seemed to be arranged in a circle, with materials for cooking and a fire in the middle. It appeared as if they cooked their food solely over an open flame. That’s not something most people do nowadays. Absently, she wondered if they even had a radio. Maybe they’d be safe here. 

“Uh… guys?” Chei turned to look at what Xen was pointing at. A wanted poster. With her face on it. 

So, not safe. 

Oh, how she envied the days before photographs, when wanted posters were all hand drawn and could be easily altered. 

She tears the wretched thing down, rips it to shreds, and stuffs it in a nearby trash can. “Maybe no one has seen it yet.”

“Hey!” Someone called, jogging over. Chei was worried they’d seen her destroy the poster, and was hesitant about turning around. But then she realized that she would be found out either way, and ultimately decided to face them. 

“Help,” She pleaded, gasping for air. “You gotta help me. My sister - she went out on the boat this morning and hasn't come back. She’s hours late. I need a boat- please let me use your boat!”

“Woah, woah!” Xen put his hands up as a buffer. “Sounds pretty serious. I would love to help, but we don’t have a boat.”

“Please- please, I can’t find anyone else. It’s high tide, I’m worried! If something happened to her, I wouldn’t be able to- please-“

The stranger looked about their age, dressed in the red robes of the Fire Nation. Her eyes sparkled like the sea, watering at the edges. Her face was very round and tan - most likely from all the sun. Her hands pulled at her deep brown hair in worry and fear. 

She felt guilty. How could they just leave this girl and her sister without aid? And wasn’t this Chei’s job, as the Avatar? To help, wherever she could?

“I’m sure we can find a boat,” Chei reasoned. 

“Thank you!” The girl grabbed Chei’s arm. Her hand’s were unexpectedly warm, and she fought the urge to shake her off. 

“Ahem,” Iden cleared his throat. “Chei, can we talk for a minute?”

He pulled her aside, Xen following behind. In a hushed voice, Iden asked, “Where are you gonna get a boat?”

Chei shrugged. 

“I’m sure we can find one,” Xen reasoned. “Look at what town we’re in.”

“Or I could just make one,” Chei shrugged. 

“Or you could just- wait.” Xen scratched his neck. “Would a boat made of Earth float?”

“Well, if we found some metal…”

Iden cocked his head, sarcastically saying, “I’m sorry, did you learn to Metalbend overnight?”

Chei nodded. “Right. Let’s try Earth first. Stone may be able to work. We will just have to find somewhere that isn’t sand.”

“Fast, maybe?” Xen suggested. “We don't know how much danger her sister is in.”

“Right.” They hurried off to find some grass. There was a small patch nearby, and when Chei dug a little, she uncovered a small deposit of stone. 

“Lucky break,” Xen huffed under his breath, then turned to the girl. “Say, you’re fairly calm about the Earthbending thing. What’s your name?”

“Lia,” she answered, watching blankly as Chei morphed the stone into a boat, absently twiddling her thumbs. 

“I’m Xen. Chei is the one Earthbending, and my brother Iden is the other guy.” Lia just kept staring straight ahead. “Not much for conversation, huh?” Xen joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Just scared.” Lia looked down. She kicked at the dirt. “Sorry.”

Chei got just enough stone to mold a small raft. It looked like it would barely hold the four of them, and may tip if put under too much pressure, as it was very thin and the sides weren’t very high. However, Chei had no doubt that it would float. 

She pushed it over to the edge of the water. “Alright, which way did your sister go?”

Lia pointed East, towards the docs. They headed over there and dropped the raft into the ocean. Sure enough, it  _ did _ float. Chei wished she could reinforce it, make it sturdier, but she doubted there was the time or resources to do so. 

Lia was the first one on, then Chei. Xen climbed in next, boat wobbling slightly as he sat and leaned against the wall. 

“Careful,” Chei warned, as Iden stepped in. They all had to grip the sides to keep from capsizing.

“Are you sure this can hold four of us?” Iden asked. 

No, she wasn’t. It was already very tipsy, and they hadn’t even gotten out into the currents. She hoped everyone could swim. 

Before she could say as much, Xen followed up with, “How do we move?” 

“I have these.” Lia pulled two wooden sticks out from her belt. She seemed to have a lot of small things on her belt - a portable radio, some matches, a water bottle, snacks. Lia tugged on the end of one of the sticks. It extended outwards, probably five or six feet, into a paddle. 

“Dude,” Iden grabbed and turned it over in his hands as if it were made of glass. “ _ Awesome. _ ”

“Sure is convenient,” Xen shrugged.

“You two row while we look for Lia’s sister,” Chei said. Lia handed the other one to Iden. 

And with that, they set out. The ride was rocky, but they didn’t encounter any serious problems. It wasn’t long before the village faded into nothing but a speck behind them. 

“Are you sure she would go out this far?” Chei asked, nervous about finding their way back. 

“This is the fishing route everyone always takes,” Lia explained. “I don’t know for sure, but this is where she always goes.”

Lia seemed terrified, so Chei decided to trust her. 

“What’s that?” Iden asked, pointing to something below the water. They all ran to look, pushing the boat to a tipping point. 

Chei backed up in a desperate attempt to retain balance. Within a few moments, the boat settled. 

“I don’t see anything,” Xen said. Lia nodded in agreement. 

“No, something was there, I swear.” Iden leaned down to get a closer look. “It was long, and huge. Like a giant snake.”

“Maybe it was just a shadow,” Chei reasoned. Iden slumped back against the side and continued rowing in silence. 

The water rippled calmly, cradling the boat back and forth. It was peaceful out here. Chei had never felt any connection to the water - having grown up in a landlocked Earth Kingdom city - but out here, with the sun glimmering on the waves, she could definitely see the draw to it.

“You know what’s weird,” Lia began, peering over the edge of the boat. “It’s midday. The water’s warmed up by now - usually, there’s a lot more fish out here. Or, well, any.”

Chei followed her gaze down to the sea floor. She didn’t know anything about fish habits or the ocean, but now that Lia mentioned it, the water  _ did _ seem awfully quiet. 

“Maybe your sister caught them all?” Iden shrugged. Lia glared at him.

Chei continued to stare into the water. It was mesmerizing. Maybe she  _ should _ go spend some time with one of the Water Tribes.

“Uh, g-guys?” Xen stuttered, right before a large shadow passed beneath them. Chei startled, almost falling over the ledge. Lia grabbed her arm and held it tightly until they were steady.

“You were right,” Xen told Iden.

“See? I know what I’m talking about.” Iden looked out into the water. They could see the tail end of the shadow slithering away.

Lia gripped the railing, knuckles white. Her eyes narrowed on the shadow. “Now we know where the fish went.”

“Should we go after it?” Iden suggested.

“Nu uh! No way!” Xen reached for the oar to begin rowing again, but Chei stopped him.

“I hate to say it, but following that shadow  _ may _ lead us to Lia’s sister.”

Xen groaned. “Can you at least do the rowing?”

“But I’ll be the one doing the fighting,” Chei reasoned.

“I doubt it,” Lia said. “Out here, your powers are useless. A Fire or Waterbender may have more luck.”

Xen childishly stuck his touch out at Chei as they swapped places. Although Lia did have a point, and there was no doubt that Xen was more experienced in Firebending, that didn’t mean she had to  _ like  _ it.

Her and Iden rowed after the shadow, picking up speed as they went along. It was no longer in sight, so they just followed the general direction it had headed in.The waves carried them swiftly along. However, after it had been a bit since spotting the shadow, Chei said, “I think we have to call it. There’s no way we will catch up to that thing.”

“Help!  _ Help!”  _ As if on cue, they heard someone screeching not too far off.

“Could that be-” Chei began.

_ “Meri!”  _ Lia screamed. Chei and Iden quickly began rowing towards the cry for help. It grew louder as they spotted splashes not too far off.

“That must be her!” Xen said, dashing to the edge of the boat to get a better look.

“We’ll never be able to get in that,” Iden said. “Look at those currents. It’ll just sweep us away, assuming we will even be able to see.”

Chei gripped the oar tightly. “We have to try.”

They continued to edge closer, but the closer they got, the more they were pushed away by the currents and waves. They could barely see past the water flying around them. Chei reached up to shield her eyes. As they neared the center of the attack, Chei knew there was only one thing she could possibly do to make it there: she would have to Waterbend.

Chei tried to stand on the boat, but it kept rocking and knocking her down. She tried to grab onto the ledge, but the water sprayed in her eyes. “I can’t see anything!” Chei exclaimed, slipping backwards.

“Easy,” Xen caught her right as she began to tip into the water, righting her back into her seat instead. “There’s no way we can bend in this. No Earth, and any flame we create would be snuffed out.”

“Get closer!” Iden demanded, furiously rowing. It did nothing.

“I’ll have to Waterbend us closer!” Chei shouted over the raging waves. “Help me stand up!”

“That’s ridiculous!” Iden shouted back. 

“Just get over here and  _ help me!” _ Iden and Xen obliged, helping steady Chei on either side. She tried her best to copy the Waterbending techniques she had seen others use. It was impossible, seeing that she had only met a handgun of Waterbenders in her entire life. Yet, she persevered. With a loose stance, Chei aimed to concentrate on the water around her. The way it rocked the boat, how it soared past her eyes and drenched her clothes. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the source and power behind it all. 

She stumbled forward, trying to bring the boat with her. Nothing happened. She tried again, aiming for a steadier stance, it was still. Again, nothing. Again, they continued to fall backwards.

Rather delayed, the boat rose out of the water and above the currents. 

“Nice job Chei!” Xen cheered, clapping her on the shoulder, but Chei just looked on in awe. 

“That wasn’t me.”

“Huh?”

The water parted, air cleared, putting Lia on full display as she pushed and pulled the currents around her. Chei’s draw dropped. “Woah.”

Droplets laid suspended mid-air, floating above her head in one, suspended breath. Then, all at once, it all came crashing down. Their raft sped forward, releasing waves behind them. Lia pushed them right up into the battle. 

The large shadow appeared to have been a gigantic, 20-foot long water snake. It’s scales were shot black, with the head of a dragon. Water poured off in buckets as it thrashed, wrapped around a young girl who Chei could only assume was Lia’s sister, Meri.

Lia grabbed at the snake with water, turning it to ice and using it to pry apart it’s grip. It wasn’t strong enough, so Chei stepped forward and shocked it’s thrashing tail with a burst of fire.

The water snake startled, rimrod straight before falling back into the water. Lia caught Meri on a wave, gently lowering her down onto the raft. 

She seemed to be unconscious. Xen sat back down with the oar, “We need to get her back to the village.”

Lia nodded, watching over her younger sister carefully. 

They made their way back to shore, dragging the raft onto the sand as soon as they all unloaded. The dock was a nice change from the lack of stability that the ocean provided. Lia carried Mari down the dock and onto the sand, laying her down softly. 

Chei bent down, making sure Mari was breathing. She was, and her heartbeat was normal. She turned to Lia. “Where is your home?”

“Down the beach.” She pointed to a small shack crowded with boats and fishing supplies.

“And we couldn’t have just used one of your boats?” Xen threw up his arms in exasperation.

Lia ignored him. “Help me carry her.”

Together, they were able to get Meri back to the shack. Someone met them at the entrance, an older woman. Her eyebrows were knitted together, hair cascading over her shoulders. And she looked vaguely familiar, as if Chei had known her in a past life.

Lia carried Mari in, gently laying her down on a nearby cot. A few other children ran up to see, and that’s when Chei noticed: none of these kids looked alike. Lia was by far the eldest of them, but even she looked nothing like the others. Some had blue eyes and light brown hair that curled on the ends, while others were tan with the darkest locks imaginable. To top it all off, absolutely  _ none _ of them looked like the elder woman. Even Lia and Mari didn’t share any resemblance.

Chei didn’t know what to think, so she decided she just wouldn’t say anything.

One of the younger children brought a first aid kit over. Lia opened it and tied some gauze around a cut on Mari’s leg, but there weren’t that many visible injuries. She was breathing fine, it seemed like there wasn’t much to do but wait.

“You know, a lot of people thought there wouldn’t be another Avatar,” The old lady began, looking at Chei.

Chei was taken aback. She scrambled for something to say. “Yeah, I-I heard the radio a few days ago. Weird, huh?”

The woman grinned at her. She wasn’t buying it. “The last Avatar was someone very close to me.” She looked away, watching Lia and Mari. “I loved her more than anything, and I would never harm the new Avatar, would she appear in front of me.”

Chei felt a tugging at the back of her throat as it all clicked together. It was like a wave of emotion came over her, threatening to spill over, and she couldn’t even place  _ why. _ She swallowed it down, and begged for confirmation when she choked out, “A-Asami?”

She nodded.

Iden’s head popped up. “Did you say Asami, as in, Avatar Korra’s wife?”

Asami turned to Iden. “That  _ would _ be me, although don’t go repeating it around. It’s a bit of a secret that I’m here.”

Iden pretended to rest his chin on his knuckles in interest. “Please tell me more.”

She laughed, and to Chei, it sounded like a distant memory. “After Korra passed away, I retired and moved around a lot. But everywhere I went drew too much attention. I just wanted a life of peace, so I came here. Taking care of a group of kids happened somewhere along the way.”

“So, they’re not… yours?” Iden asked, looking back and forth.

Asami chuckled. “No, a lot of them were outcasts in their homes. Lia came first. I guess she recognized me and, well, she’s like me, so I agreed to take her in. There've been seven who have come to me since then. It’s not the retirement I had in mind, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Lia was “like” her? What did that mean? Chei had so many questions, but no time to ask them. Across the room, a commotion of cheers and hugs erupted. Mari had woken up, and everyone was overjoyed.

With everyone else distracted by the loud cheering and celebration, Asami nodded off to the side, near an archway.

“Join me in the other room. I’d love to hear all about your journey.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed!!! the Asami Talk is coming up next, but i wanted to split it into two chapters so that it didn't get super long. she is the first person chei has met who knew a past avatar, so there is going to be a LOT to talk about.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> continued my writing streak by finishing up this chapter! hope you enjoy!

“...so we drove until we could see the coast, which ended up being this village,” Chei finished retelling their adventure thus far. “It’s purely coincidence that we ran into you.”

Asami smiled at her. “Maybe not as big a coincidence as you might think. In all my years with Korra, I always found that the world landed us exactly where we needed to be, whether we knew it or not.”

The four of them sat in a small living space, on two red sofas with a mahogany table between them. It was a very nice table, save of the scuff marks that littered the legs. Several photos adorned the walls, mostly of the children in the house, but there were a few, faded in sepia, that Chei felt she was just a dime from recognizing. 

“This is, traditionally, a Fire Nation town. Even after the war ended, and Lord Zuko turned the nation around, the Fire Nation is probably the most chaotic of the four.” Asami leaned back and folded her hands into her lap. “It’s because of the love of progress and innovation. Every day, there’s some new invention coming from the Fire Nation. It’s a lot to keep up with, even for me.”

“Are you from the Fire Nation?” Iden asked. 

“My family is. I grew up in Republic City.”

Xen’s head shot up. “Republic City? I’ve always wanted to go there!” He squirmed with excitement. Asami laughed. 

“It’s true,” Iden confirmed. “Ever since we were kids, Xen has been dreaming of going to Republic City. I think it’s part of his dream to become a ProBender.”

“Dream?” Xen looked aghast. “I think you mean  _ plan.”  _ Iden rolled his eyes. 

Chei decided to ignore all this and focus on their mission. She turned to Asami, “How long would it take to sail from here to the Earth Kingdom?”

“Luckily, Republic City  _ is  _ on the other side of the ocean. And it’s the largest seaport on this side of the map. I believe it’s only a few hours. Are you not going to try and visit any of the other nations to learn bending?”

Chei looked at the floor. “It’s been a bit of an adventure, getting here. I want to make a stop at home before traveling any further.”

“Have you learned any other types of bending?” She leaned forward. “How long have you known you were the Avatar?”

“Only a week or so,” Chei admitted. Saying it out loud felt surreal. She felt like she’d been gone for months. “I’ve learned a bit of Firebending from Xen. In a perfect world, I would be able to travel with other benders who can help us get home  _ and  _ teach me bending.”

There was a knock on the door as Lia stepped into the room. She shuffled her feet shyly as she told them, “I just wanted to let you know that Mari is fine.”

Asami looked at her coyly. “Lia, you’ve always talked about how much you wished to travel.”

Lia’s eyes darted around the room. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“Would you be interested in aiding the Avatar on her quest?”

Chei’s eyebrows shot up, but she said nothing. Instead, Iden chimed in, “We  _ could _ use a Waterbender on our side. Especially one with your skill!”

He was right. Lia seemed like a really great girl - she had to be, if she was raised by Asami. And having a Waterbender with them would do nothing but help.

Lia looked to Chei for approval. Chei nodded at her, “As long as you’re comfortable leaving home for that long, we would love you to travel with us. Under the condition that you teach me a bit of Waterbending, of course.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Lia scratched the back of her neck. “Most of what I know is from scrolls and books. Neither of my parents were benders, and there still aren’t many Waterbenders in the Southern Water Tribe.”

Chei remembered learning about how all the known Waterbenders in the Southern Tribe had been wiped out during the war. A few had been born since then, ones with grandparents or past who had been benders, but it skipped a generation, or perhaps with one parent from the Northern Tribe. Chei despised the thought. Who knew how many Water or Airbenders there would be today, if not for the war?

“Well it’s not like any of _us_ know how Waterbend,” Xen said.   
“I would love to,” Lia said, but still seemed unsure. 

Asami seemed to pick up on this. “Why don’t you take the night to think about it. Chei, Iden, Xen - you all are free to stay the night. We have a few empty rooms that you can stay in.”

The offer sounded glorious to Chei. Not only would they get a wonderful night of rest on an actual bed, but they could shower, wash their clothes, maybe eat some food that is real and not potentially stolen. 

Xen, however, did not seem to have the same idea. “I don’t know…” He looked between her and Iden. 

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Chei said. “We would  _ love _ to stay. Thank you so much for your offer.”

Asami smiled at them. “Glad to hear it.” She stood and walked to the door. To Lia, she said, “Want to go tell Foshi and Senzan to set up for dinner?” And with that, they left, leaving the door open just a crack behind them.

Xen turned to Chei. “Why’d you do that?”

“Why’d  _ I _ do that?” Chei was shocked. She couldn’t even imagine why someone wouldn’t take Asami up on her offer. “Why’d  _ you _ do that?”

“I’m not sure I want to take advantage of her hospitality.” Xen looked to his brother for support. “We’ve never really been known to accept outside help.”

Chei thought back to their battered, worn down home. She had only been there for a small while, but she could tell that it’s days were numbered. Between the peeling walls, the moldy, wooden columns, and the stained ceiling, she was surprised it hadn’t collapsed already. Xen didn’t want to ask for help. Whether he didn’t feel the need to, or he was uncomfortable with it - it didn’t matter. Chei had overstepped in assuming what he would want.

“That’s how it used to be, but things are different now,” Iden reasoned, “We need all the help we can get.”

Xen looked like he was about to protest, but Chei stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. “It will be good for us to take a night off.” She looked into his eyes and, with her words, tried to convey that she understood his hesitancy. “But I promise to be more considerate of your input in the future.”

Xen tried for a smile, but he still seemed uncomfortable. Chei supposed that was the best she could ask for, she would just have to make sure she follows through with her promise.

Dinner was filled with idle chit chat of all types. Asami told them about her adventures with Korra (“You two seem really alike! Maybe that shouldn’t be so surprising…”). The kids, mostly the younger ones, would interject with their own tales of wonder and glory (“-and then I reeled in this _ huge _ fish! Bigger than you are!” Everyone laughed). 

Seeing them all together, it was very clear that none of them were related. None of them looked alike. Mari sat at the table with them, but didn’t seem to be feeling very well. She didn’t eat much and didn’t seem all that attentive. Chei was worried, but it wasn’t her place to say anything. It wasn’t until halfway through that Lia finally took her upstairs. She was gone for the rest of the meal and the night, and Chei idly wondered if she was avoiding talking to them. But that was ridiculous, right? She was probably just watching after Mari.

All of the children went to bed early, leaving only Chei, Xen, Iden and Asami. They talked about their plans, Asami gave them a few pointers and directions, and then she promised to supply them with a boat. 

“It’s not much,” She told them. “Kind of worn down. We have it as a backup, in case we somehow lose or break all our others. But we haven’t needed it in years. You’d be doing me a favor, really.”

This time, Chei waited for Xen to speak first. He seemed to mull it over before reluctantly agreeing. They agreed to set out first thing in the morning.

After helping to clear the table and clean, they headed upstairs. Iden and Xen were in one room, and Chei was in another. 

Late at night, long after everyone else had fallen asleep, Chei remembered the food in their car. 

She crawled out of bed, eyes dreary, and headed outside. She grabbed the sack of food from the trunk and began the walk back, but stopped when she noticed a figure by the water. 

“Lia?”

Lia turned and their eyes met. “Chei? What are you doing out here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” Chei put the sack of food down and moved to stand by Lia. “What’s on your mind?”

She seemed to debate whether or not even share, but must have come to a satisfactory conclusion. “I want to go with you, but I’m afraid to leave home.”

Chei could understand that. She probably never would have left home, and she misses it more than anything. “What, specifically, are you afraid of leaving?”

“I don’t know…” Lia shuffled her feet in the sand. “I’m the eldest here. I help with a lot of the food. What will they do once I’m gone?”

“I’m sure they can manage. Is that all you’re afraid of?” It didn’t seem like much to mull over. 

“No… There’s something else.” Lia tucked her hands into her arms, holding close as she started out at the ocean. “I haven’t left this village since I first got here. Since…” She swallowed. “Since my family disowned me. I don’t know what the world is like out there. Would they accept someone like me?”

“You mean, because you’re…” No one had directly told Chei yet, and she didn’t want to assume the wrong thing. 

“Gay.” Lia crumpled in on herself. “Yeah.”

Ah. Chei knew a thing or two about that. She had suspected as much about herself for years, never confirming it due to her own denial. She hadn’t thought about it much since this whole Avatar business began. “I am too, if it helps.”

Lia perked up a bit. “Really? Are most people accepting?”

“I have never told anyone before. I don’t exactly have it sorted out, I might be bi, or gay, or pan, I don’t know. But I think…” Chei tried to recall some of the stories she had heard. Most had been accepting. “Almost everyone is great about it. There are a few people who won’t be accepting, but there’s always going to be people who don’t like you. They don’t matter.”

She thought of Nao, her friend back home. Chei had felt a certain way about her, a way that she had never felt about anyone before. And while the feelings had since faded, and she was pretty certain they would never be reciprocated, that didn’t make them any less real.

Lia nodded, but she still seemed a little hesitant when she asked, “How did your parents react?”

“They don’t know,” Chei sighed. Although it wasn’t uncommon to find people with similar orientations in their town, and her parents had never treated them any differently. “I’m pretty sure they will be okay with it. And if they aren’t, well, who needs ‘em?” She nudged Lia’s arm teasingly. Lia smiled.

“Maybe you’re right. I’ve gone this long without my parents, haven’t I?”

“Exactly! You don’t need them, and anyone who disagrees can face the wrath of my waves!” Chei mocked a waterbending pose, similar to the one she’d seen Lia do earlier, except much, much worse. She was just making a fool of herself in the hopes of getting her new friend to laugh.

She was delighted when it worked. Lia’s eyes lit up as she threw her head back and laughed. It was the first time Chei had heard her laugh, and she thought that it may have been the most wonderful sound in the world. 

“We’ll need to work on your Waterbending,” Lia said, still grinning from ear to ear. “That was atrocious.”

“For sure.” Chei was just happy to see her smiling, regardless of embarrassing herself. “For what it’s worth, I’m happy you’ll be joining us.”

Lia’s smile shifted into something softer, like a secret meant to be kept between just them. “Thanks.”

They stayed outside and watched the water for a bit after that, but went inside once the ocean air grew too chilly. Chei collapsed in her bed and slept straight through till the next morning. 

She’d gotten out of bed to eat breakfast, but was shocked to see that the rest of the crew had already loaded the boat and was waiting for her. 

“Ah, there you are!” Iden called, waving her over. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

She winced. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Lia said you’d been up late,” Xen said. “So we thought we could set everything up so that it could be ready when you were.”

“That’s really nice of you,” Chei said. “Thank you. So are you ready?”

“Just about,” Lia answered, tightening a rope on the side of the shore. “Asami said we could use this boat, since it’s never touched anyways.”

It was a small sailboat, clearly only meant to hold a handful of people. The sail was light blue; the wood, pale. There were four back-up oars on the side, along with a series of lifejackets and nets. Chei was a tad uneasy to be sailing across such open waters, but this did seem safe.

“Let me just get the food and we can go,” She said, running back inside to get their hoard of snacks. It’s really too bad that they had to leave their car behind. 

Once she was back in the boat, snacks and all, Lia pulled one final rope and they were off to Republic City.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was so excited to introduce lia you have no idea lol
> 
> hope you enjoyed! as always, comments and feedback are appreciated!


End file.
